1. On the occasion of the High-Level Segment of the 43^rd session of the Human Rights Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha met with Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on February 23, and discussed ways to combat the recent spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and step up cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the WHO.

2. Minister Kang explained the current situation of the COVID-19 outbreak in the ROK as well as the country’s government-wide and transparent response to the outbreak, and said that with the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, the ROK has decided to raise the COVID-19 alert level to the highest level of “serious” and significantly strengthen the government-wide response system.

o Director-General Tedros noted the ROK government’s all-out efforts to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak, and said with confidence that the ROK would overcome the outbreak well, as the country has a strong and outstanding response system as well as an experience of coping with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). He went on to say that the WHO will closely cooperate with the ROK government in the process.

3. In addition, Director-General Tedros said that since the outbreak of COVID-19, the WHO has been increasing efforts to prevent its spread and effectively respond to it. He added in particular that the WHO established the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) and is taking steps to support countries with vulnerable health systems, and stressed the need for support from the international community.

o Minister Kang agreed on the importance of international joint efforts led by the WHO, and said that the ROK government will actively look into ways to continue participating in such efforts.